Speaker
Description
Since Leibniz, the conceptual construct of “possible worlds” has been widely used to understand what is thinkable, necessary, or contingent. The creation of alternate versions of reality is particularly important for whoever has to test and evaluate different choices, events and natural laws that might exist, so as to examine moral dilemmas and metaphysical questions before putting them into practice. Architects and planners are engaged in world-building activities by definition, and planning academics increasingly resort to “possible world” narratives, proposing specific ideas of “the good”, “most fit”, and “the urban” itself. In this paper, the concept of “possibility design” is introduced not to discuss which “possible worlds” are to be reached but to explore the “world of the possible” without the presumption to predict or prescribe a precise state of affairs. The central focus is on human possibilities, assuming that their nature and expansion are largely influenced by cities and that cities themselves are expressions of human possibilities. To argue so, this paper illustrates how “possibility design” affects both the conception and development of specific domains of spatial design (e.g. mobility infrastructures, building activities, welfare policies). The main challenges for urban “possibility designers” are essentially two: (i) recognizing human activities as a search and combination of possibilities and (ii) supporting human activities across space and time. A critical discussion follows, highlighting the main descriptive and normative implications at stake. On the one hand, exploring the “world of the possible” requires accepting indeterminacy and dynamicity as essential elements of complex systems – especially man-made ones. On the other hand, desiring to seriously expand, differentiate and protect “human possibilities” requires going beyond concerns of precise calculation.
References
Ameel, L., Gurr, J. M., & Buchenau, B. (2023). Narrative in Urban Planning: A Practical Field Guide. Transcript Verlag, Bielefeld.
Hillier, J., & Metzger, J. (2021). Towns within towns: From Incompossibility to inclusive disjunction in urban spatial planning. Deleuze and Guattari Studies, 15(1), 40-64.
Innocent, T. (2024). Reworlding: Urban Play as Method for Exploring Alternate Social Imaginaries. Space and Culture, 27(2), 227-241.
Lapintie, K. (2007). Modalities of urban space. Planning Theory, 6(1), 36-51.
Prigogine, I. (1997). The end of certainty: Time, chaos, and the new laws of nature. Free Press. New York, NY.
| Keywords | possibility; urban planning; spatial design; urban policies; indeterminacy |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
